This is the second post in a series of blogposts highlighting some of the similarities between the Gospel of John and the Synoptic Gospels. For this post I have made use of, among other things, the Greek text and the ESV text of BibleWorks 9.

Rejection of Jesus

First, all four Gospels indicate that Jewish people rejected Jesus or some aspect of him. According to John’s Gospel, “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.” (John 1:11 ESV) In the Synoptics there are different versions of the saying or a number of sayings along the lines of a prophet being without honour in his hometown and among his relatives (Mark 6:4, Luke 4:24 and Matthew 13:57). In Luke 9:22 Jesus says that the Son of Man must be rejected by the elders, chief priests and scribes (cf. Mark 8:31). Note also Jesus’s referring to Psalm 118 in the Synoptics (Matthew 21:42, Mark 12:10 and Luke 20:17).

Children of God

Second, all four Gospels contain indications that (the historical) Jesus taught and/or ‘invited’ disciples of his to treat YHWH as a father. “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,” (John 1:12 ESV). “Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.”” (Mat 6:9 ESV). “And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.” (Mar 11:25 ESV).

Jesus went to John

In the first post I indicated that in all four Gospels John the Baptist is portrayed as a lesser figure than Jesus and as one who prepared the way for him. But all four Gospels also make clear to readers that Jesus went to John the Baptist. Matthew made it most clear that Jesus went to John to be baptized and Mark made it most clear that Jesus was in fact baptized by him (cf. Matthew 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 2:51, 3:3, 7, 21; John 1:29-34).